The black sun hangs high

Chapter 136 "Prank"

Entering the exhibition hall and obtaining the original manuscript of "Poems of the Night" from the library is not complicated.

For the Ernst family, the value and significance of "The Poem of the Night" were originally very limited. After Hugh presented the family credentials given to him by old Zeke and stated that he was there to collect the manuscript on behalf of Verine, the clerk in charge of guarding and managing the exhibition hall simply handed the iron box containing the ancient manuscript to Hugh.

The accommodations arranged for Hugh were actually several villas in Ernst Manor specifically used to entertain important and special guests.

The meeting rooms and conference halls where the council monks resided were also located here.

Sitting in the carriage, Hugh could see the bright lights in the hall not far away, and he could even hear the heated debate. It seemed that the information that Verin had obtained had really shocked these traditional mages.

This reminded Hughes of what he used to see next to those meeting rooms when he finished working overtime.

It turns out that working overtime and having meetings are common everywhere.

The thought of Wei Lin being dragged directly into the conference room without even having time to eat or drink after just coming out of the underground building made Hughes shake his head in sympathy.

The carriage slowly came to a stop, and Hugh and Duden stepped down. He looked at the exquisite and elegant villa in front of him, which appeared under the glow of the magic lamp, and asked, "Butler, has Miss Vereen Ernst's accommodation been arranged?"

"It's all arranged, sir... It's in the building next to yours. Would you like us to move you in together?"

"That's not necessary."

Hugh shook his head: "After Miss Weilin finishes her meeting, please tell her that I have obtained what she needs and she can come to me for it anytime."

"No problem, sir."

The butler bowed and said, "If you need anything, you can use the call bell in the house, and I will receive the message immediately."

With everything arranged, Hugh finally relaxed.

The fatigue that he had been forcibly suppressing with magic all this time suddenly erupted. Hugh yawned heavily and then led the guard Duden into the detached house. Perhaps because he had never been to such a place before, Duden seemed a little uneasy. He carried two rifles on his back and looked at everything with a mixture of curiosity and nervousness.

Fortunately, servants were already waiting in the house. Under their arrangement, Duden moved into a room specifically for bodyguards and guards, while Hugh went to his bedroom on the second floor alone.

Everything was prepared: clothes tailored to Hugh's size, books Hugh had previously left at the manor hotel, and all the newspapers from the past few days...

The entire room had been fumigated with ash grass, and now expensive incense to soothe the mind was burning on the table, along with steaming tea.

These preparations were so meticulous and thoughtful that Hugh felt like he was being "cared for".

The bath took Hugh quite a while. He was so tired that he almost fell asleep in the tub. After changing into a clean bathrobe, the drowsy feeling subsided considerably. So instead of going to sleep right away, he sat down at the table with his clothes on, picked up the wooden box containing the original manuscript of "The Poem of the Night," and put on the gloves that the museum clerk had given him.

After the exquisite wooden box was opened, a scroll of parchment covered with ancient script appeared before Hugh.

There was no trace or fluctuation of magic.

No strange phenomena were observed.

As Verin had previously explained, the so-called "Poem of the Night" was essentially just an ordinary manuscript of poems. It contained neither any magic nor any strange rituals. Hugh didn't even dare to use too much force, lest he crush or tear this ancient artifact.

He slowly unfolded the parchment and began to read it by the light of the magic lamp on his desk.

The writing style in the manuscript of "Poems of the Night" is very strange. Judging from the writing itself, it is indeed the common language used in most regions. Some characters are different from those of today, but they can still be barely distinguished. However, for some reason, the author deliberately twisted these characters into various strange shapes. They look as if they were randomly "brushed" with a brush dipped in black ink after getting drunk. Even where there was originally a straight line, he would tremble or twist from time to time, which made these originally recognizable characters look weird.

Hugh's gaze fell on the top of the poem.

"It is not light that penetrates the darkness."

"This is the eternal night of annihilation of time, the end of all entities."

"That is the gaze cast by eternal despair."

Hughes read these words aloud in his mind. The first three sentences alone were already giving him a headache. He certainly had the ability to appreciate literary works, but that did not mean he could easily understand these riddle-like verses that were ambiguous, seemingly alluding to something, yet extremely vague.

My gaze followed the poem manuscript downwards.

"It all began with a dream."

"Everything ends because of lucidity."

"What I have written down is not a poem, but the captivating reality of the scene..."

As Hugh continued reading, his eyebrows furrowed. The first volume of "Poems of the Night" was divided into nine chapters of varying lengths and sizes. The volume that was initially used as a preface had a certain narrative quality, roughly describing the thoughts and state of mind of the "mad poet" Aziv when he decided to write these poems.

He believed he had a very long dream in which he saw many bizarre and strange scenes, which filled him with panic and despair. However, when he woke up from the dream, he felt a sense of loss...

Therefore, he decided to record these things he dreamed about in the form of poetry.

"It doesn't seem as bad as Veraine said; at least it's understandable."

Hugh muttered something to himself, then his gaze drifted to the first formal chapter of "The Poem of the Night".

This chapter was named "Sinar Sea" by Aziv, the same name as the invisible spiritual sea that the mages in Vain recognized.

However, as Hughes tried to continue reading, he discovered that his previous judgments and ideas were completely wrong, because from this point on, the content of "The Poem of the Night" began to develop in a direction that he could not understand at all.

They are still the same strokes derived from the distortion of the common script, but what they depict are a large number of extremely scattered and disordered nouns, adjectives, and neologisms.

In terms of readability and comprehensibility alone, Hughes even thought that this stuff was far inferior to some classic "toilet poetry" he had read in the past. Although those things were equally outrageous, at least they were entertaining. What he was seeing now could only make him frown.

According to Hughes, these two types of works do have something in common: they make one want to question the writer's mental state.

He painstakingly pieced together the first chapter from these incomprehensible words and fragmented sentences, then decisively rolled up the manuscript and put it back in the wooden box. Based on his own first reading experience of "The Poems of the Night," Hugh found it very difficult to agree with the view that "The Poems of the Night" is a magical tome.

"Alright, let's rest first...we can work on it again tomorrow morning." Hugh pushed the wooden box to the center of the desk, and then he "looked" into his mental world.

After a series of tiring and fierce battles, all the residents inside the metal disc are now taking the time to rest. Among them, the running rat, who benefited the most from this operation, is now fast asleep without any regard for appearances. Judging from the proportions of the grooves in the disc and the rat hole within it, the running rat probably really has the potential to become a mount.

"You're getting so fat you're practically a pig."

Like any pet owner who feels helpless with their pets, Hugh sighed.

Judging from its growth trend, I probably won't be able to carry it around easily in the future. I don't know how it will be able to perform tasks such as exploration and reconnaissance in its current state.

After completing his daily "dormitory check" task, Hughes reached out and drew the curtains, then turned and collapsed onto the bed, sinking into the soft mattress with his own weight.

All the sounds seemed to fade into the distance.

However, for the nobles of the Leland district of Borden, this was destined to be no peaceful night.

Just before falling asleep, Hugh could still faintly hear the occasional, crisp gunshots coming from afar.

……

He really wanted to get a good night's sleep, but a small thought before falling asleep still led him into the dream sanctuary.

Upon arriving here, Hugh immediately revealed his true colors.

He wasn't really keen on moving around, and now that he'd inadvertently entered the Dream Sanctuary, he naturally developed that familiar feeling of passive resistance.

After a while, he finally ended his semi-paralyzed state and slowly stood up from the chair.

"Oh right... I remember planting something in that flowerpot before."

Thinking this, Hugh yawned and slowly walked towards the opposite side of the office area.

As soon as he turned the corner, he saw an extremely spectacular scene.

The flowerpot was still in the same spot, but it was now completely cracked. A large number of dark green roots sprouted from the cracks in the shattered pot, and a lot of soil was brought to the ground. A huge plant grew out of it in a way that Shug could not understand. Dense vines climbed up the nearby walls and desks and chairs, and a considerable portion of them even climbed directly up the walls to the ceiling...

This turned what was originally a very modern office area into something resembling a primeval jungle.

Even more absurdly, among these drooping vines and plant roots, Hugh could also see a figure sitting in front of a computer with his legs crossed, typing away. So, while keeping a close watch on these strange plant roots, he quickly climbed onto the desk and walked directly forward from there.

However, when he climbed down from his desk, ready to ask a question, the figure in front of him stunned him.

He blinked, then raised his hand and pinched the bridge of his nose hard.

However, the person sitting in front of him, who was sitting with her legs crossed and intently operating the keyboard and mouse, was a woman.

She wore her long hair in a ponytail, a casual top, and a simple, refreshingly colored jacket.

She wore sneakers and casual pants on her lower body.

Hugh's eyebrows twitched involuntarily, because he immediately realized that this "internet beauty" actually had a chaotic face made of thick black fog, and when Hugh's gaze fell on it, a particularly classic "funny" expression even appeared on this face.

"..."

Hugh didn't know what to say.

Even though there were magical plants growing wildly to this extent for some unknown reason right next to him, a dignified deity deliberately transformed himself into this form, and the purpose of doing so was simply to lure his own fish.
There were too many elements and too much complexity, so he didn't know how to complain.

"What, you don't like it?"

Theseus spoke, and although it was still a neutral voice composed of countless blends of sounds, under his, or rather her, manipulation, the voice became noticeably more feminine, and the tone carried a meaning that made Hugh very uncomfortable.

It sounds like he's scolding or being coquettish.

Hugh took a deep breath: "Seriously, can you be normal for once?"

"Ha, am I acting abnormally? What's wrong, is it... making you uncomfortable?"

Hugh's reaction clearly amused Theseus, who laughed happily. Her clear, melodious laughter made Hugh's expression even more complicated. After a while, Theseus calmed down. She raised her hand listlessly and waved it. Black mist surged out again, and in an instant, the deep black dress reappeared on her body.

However, she only "changed her clothes" and her figure did not change back.

"How about we leave it at that? I think you need to get used to it... After all, you'll soon be a legitimate Borden nobleman, and you'll probably have a lot of social occasions."

Theseus earnestly advised, "You can't expect all women to be like the ones you're meeting now, can you? In Borden, sunny and innocent girls and aloof bookworms who only know how to read are a very small minority."

"hiss……"

Hugh felt a headache coming on when he heard Theseus use such peculiarly feminine interjections. He took a painful breath and decisively changed the subject. He pointed to the plant that was growing wildly for some unknown reason and asked, "What's going on here?"

"Just like before, I took care of you... You're quite good-looking, aren't you?"

"That's true. If I had come two days later, would this place have turned into a primeval jungle?"

"Not really."

The woman in the black dress shook her head: "With just two roots, it's impossible to recreate the miracle of the 'Walking Forest.' This is its limit. You can just go and harvest it now."

...

Still asking for votes~
Bonus chapter tomorrow!
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(End of this chapter)